The best things to do in Beijing this weekend

Your weekly guide to amazing events around Beijing

It's looking like an absolute corker of a weekend thanks to a jam-packed line-up of food events, parties and just flat-out awesome things to do. Make the most of Beijing's summer scorch and get out there to see what's up.

There are many more things to do in Beijing this week: explore, enjoy and don't forget to Instagram us your snaps with #timeoutbeijing or let us know on Facebook what you really enjoyed.

Beijing Hidden Gems Bike Tour

The Forbidden City East Gate. Sat 15-Sat 29 (Every Sat) 8am-1pm. 550RMB    

Explore the city on two wheels with Bespoke Travel Company's bike tour. Travel on an off-the-beaten-path that might just be our most fun yet. Sit down for a chat with a Buddhist Monk in one of Beijing’s oldest and most beautiful temples, learn to ‘read’ the history of a traditional Beijing courtyard doorway, sip drinks in Beijing’s oldest café, stuff your face with quirky snacks, and even join an eccentric swim club for a dip in a 12th century lake. End your morning with a well-deserved lunch at a hip noodle joint – and, if time permits, head over to a hidden craft beer spot for an award-winning post-tour pint.

Beijing Postcards Historical Pub Quiz - German Edition

Photo: Beijing Postcards

The Bookworm. Fri 14 7.30-9.30pm. 30RMB    

In collaboration with the German Embassy, Beijing Postcards is hosting a German edition of Historical Pub Quiz on Friday, June 14. As always, the quiz is part talk, part game show. All questions will be related to the history of Beijing, topics rooted in archival research done by Beijing Postcards, and answers coming from dusty archives, not Wikipedia. There's nothing to fret, it's all multiple choice questions.

Haus of Lily Drag Brunch 

Photo: Haus of Lily 

Home Plate BBQ (Sanlitun). Sat 15 11am-3pm. 250RMB    

Are you ready for Haus of Lily and their quarterly show of decadence and debauchery? Your favourite Beijing Queens will be reppin' the deep South of the United States with some of their favourite characters including Honey Boo Boo, Paula Dean, Dolly Parton, and Scarlett O' Hara. Ticket includes a souvenir glass, moonshine at the door, ten performances, full buffet including a taco station, and a very American breakfast fare of sausage, eggs and biscuits (vegetarian-friendly options included). Down it all down with a pint from the happy hour deals.

Ink In Tattoo Salon

Photo: Andrej Lišakov/Unsplash

Hotel Jen Beijing. Sun 16 2-11pm. FREE 

7 Inks presents 17 of Beijing's best artists to a tattoo ink salon held at Hotel Jen Beijing. Get inspired by body art and get your designed art tattooed just in time for the summer. Happy hours for buy one get one free craft beers and ciders from 11am till 7pm.

NBA Finals Watch Party

Photo: Golden State Warrior/NBA

The Bookworm. Sat 15 9-11am. FREE 

Calling all basketball fans, time to catch the NBA finals this Friday at The Bookworm. Cheer for your favourite team as the Golden State Warriors play against the Toronto Raptors. And if you're a fan of bagels, The Bookworm will be offering bagels with their breakfast deals exclusively at the watch party.

Wine Lips Pop-up Natural Wine Bar

Photo: Wine Lips

The Merchants. Sun 16 2-6pm. 168RMB, 138RMB adv 

Ferment-Tation and Wine Lips brings you a wine party with outdoor drinking and delicious wines to sample. Each ticket entitles you to eight tasting vouchers, which can be redeemed for wines from China, Australia, France, and Italy. China Social Club will also be providing the beats for the party. Additional wine tasting coupons can be purchased on-site at 98RMB for five tasting pours.

Daily Happy Hour at Slow Boat Taproom

Photo: Slow Boat

Slow Boat (Dengshikou). Mon 10-Wed 10 Jun 2020 4-7pm. FREE

You've now got one more reason to punch out at 4pm every day with Slow Boat Dengshikou Taproom's daily happy hour deals. Enjoy 10RMB off all Slow Boat draft beers from 4-7pm daily. The Slow Boat Dengshikou Taproom is located behind exit A of Dengshikou subway station on line 5.

Wine and the City: Dive into Burgundy

Photo: The Georg/247 Tickets

The Georg. Thu 13 7-9pm. 598RMB  

Wine and The City is back for another event, and this time, dive into the fascinating yet complex wine region of Burgundy. Cradle of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Burgundy has always had a specific place in the world of wine. The evening, this famous wine region will be unravelled, giving the historical background behind how, and why, Burgundy manages to produce some of the world’s best wines. The second installment invites Mikka Kabugo who will offer a live painting performance and a sharing session.

Photo: Vasco's

Various locations, time and prices. Sun 16. 

Treat the old man to a fancy meal this Father's Day by dining at exclusive brunch buffets with special Father's Day promotions. Choose from a list of hotel buffets from NUO Hotel, InterContinental Beijing Beichen, Conrad, and many more this weekend. 

FLUNK

Photo: Flunk/247 Tickets

Omni Space. Thu 13 8.30-10pm. 180RMB/150RMB adv

Flunk began as a project between Ulf, and Jo in Oslo, Norway in late 2000 and early 2001. Beginning as an instrumental and sampled vocal project, they were signed for a track on a compilation in winter of 2001. On hearing the finished track, label manager Vidar Hanssen signed the still-unnamed band for a full album. In spring 2002, the band was known as Flunk, and slowly gained popularity across Europe and the UK, getting rave reviews from British electronica magazines and playing at musical festivals globally.

Fujiya & Miyagi

Photo: Fujiya & Miyagi/247 Tickets

Omni Space. Sat 15 8.30-10pm 200RMB/150RMB adv 

Formed by guitarist David Best and synth player Steve Lewis, in the coastal city of Brighton, England in 1999 at a game of pickup football, Fujiya & Miyagi are deeply indebted to both vintage '70s Krautrock and the '90s bands, drawing musical influence from bands like Neu!, Kraftwerk, Stereolab, Aphex Twin and the Orb. Taking their name at random from Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid and armed with a brand of stereo equipment, they recorded their first album, Electro Karaoke in the Negative Style in 2003.

Lewis OfMan

Photo: Lewis OfMan/Facebook

77 Theatre. Sat 15 3-9pm. FREE    

At only 20 years old, this young electronic music prodigy has already collaborated with Lana Del Rey and Fakear. As a solo artist, his unique tracks have made him the talk of the town. Entirely self-taught, he has his own inimitable style that is by turns spacey and light. Originally a drummer, Lewis OfMan is now a well-known artist for both his compositions and his lyrics.

MNNQNS

77 Theatre. Sat 15 3-9pm. FREE    

Originally from Rouen, members of the group MNNQNS (pronounced “Mannequins” in French) awakened the French rock scene with their raw texts and their rabid guitars. After a stint at Rock en Seine in 2017, they won at the Société Ricard Live Music Award. They've since toured through France and got signed to an independent English label, FatCat.

Suchmos

Tango. Sun 16 8.30-10pm. 380RMB/280RMB adv

Deriving their moniker from Louis Armstrong's nickname of 'Satchmo', it's perhaps unsurprising that Japanese band Suchmos take inspiration from rock, hip-hop and jazz. After performing at a whopping 14 rock festivals last summer, such as Summer Sonic and Rising Sun Rock Festival, they head to Beijing in support of their just-released fourth studio album The Anymal.

Joachim Spieth

Photo: Sandra Schuerlein/Facebook

Lantern. Fri 14 10pm-late. tbc

Joachim Spieth, a German producer, DJ and founder of ambient techno label Affin, has been creating hypnotic soundscapes for many years. His deep basslines can be solemn or can turn enraged – whatever avenues he takes his music down, it brings listeners right along with him to explore techno through a whole new perspective.

Shlømo

Photo: Shlømo/Facebook

Lantern. Sat 15 10.30pm-7.30am. Free

As a label owner, producer and resident DJ at Paris’ premiere underground club Concrete, Shlømo is an important figure in Paris’ re-emerging techno scene. With a background in electronica and IDM, Shlømo slowly found his way into the underground warehouse party scene. His music exists at the crossroads of techno, electronica and cinematic scores. Shlømo is regarded as a rising star in the techno underground, having been a regular in the club and festival circuits and playing at places such as Berghain and Weather Festival.

Summer Roots

Photo: Aurora

Aurora Beijing. Sat 15 4pm-late. FREE

Aurora is having a rooftop party at Sanlitun on June 15. Get the summer started with disco, house and techno beats, a buffet and Italian ice cream to beat the sweltering summer heat. The party is limited to 150 people. While you're there, stand a chance to win four tickets to the Summer Wonderland Festival 2019.

Throwback Hip Hop Party

Photo: Mosto

Mosto. Fri 14 9pm-3am. Free

East Coast, West Coast, Rosé and more. Get down to your favourite old school jams this Friday with Mosto’s throwback hip hop party with beats provided by DJ MacLarry. Enjoy all night happy hour from 9pm at 40RMB, and Savatado Rosé Brut for 188RMB a bottle.

Hotel By The River

Photo: Camera Stylo/WeChat

Camera Stylo. Fri 14 8-9.30pm. FREE

The film tells the story of an ageing poet, Younghwan (Ki Joobong), who summons his two estranged sons (Kwon Haehyo and Yu Junsang) to a solitary hotel beside the Han River because he feels his death is near. While waiting for them to arrive, he meets two women (Kim Minhee and Song Seonmi) out walking in the new-fallen snow and is struck by their angelic beauty. But the women have come to the hotel to do some healing of their own.

Men In Black: International

Cinemas around Beijing. Fri 14-Sun 14 Jul.

Out go Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, in come Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, as the MiB crew head to London to protect the earth from its more malign intergalactic visitors. This time, Straight Outta Compton director F Gary Gray is running the show as the galaxy defenders track down a villain in their own ranks.

Waterboys

Photo: Waterboys/IMDB

Chao Hotel. Sat 15 4-6pm. 80RMB/150RMB (for two)

On the eve of Father's Day weekend, CHAO Art Center brings the film Waterboys to the big screen. Victor (Leopold Witt), once a successful crime novelist in his hometown, flys to the Scottish capital for a publicity tour. The only problem is that his wife decided to leave him on the eve of the trip, complicating the relationship between Victor and his son Zack (Tim Lind). Now both newly single, the Dutch crime author and his cellist son attempt to rekindle their feeble bond as the latter joins the former on a publicity trip to Scotland. Screening is held in the Cinema Club, B1 of CHAO Art Centre.

Romeo and Julia Kören: Macbeth

Photo: 247 Tickets

Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre. Thu 13 and Fri 14 7.30-8.40pm. 180-1,186RMB   

A selection of musical pieces by the Renaissance master composer Josquin des Prez creates a framework for Shakespeare’s writings while the mix of fragmented dialogue and suggestive soundscape consolidates it's murky character. Romeo and Julia Kören’s 70 minute performance captures the essence of this well-known play about human vanity, portraying a Macbeth who moves through time and space, in-between senses and insanities. Romeo & Julia Kören’s Macbeth premiered in 1997 and has since been performed at Shakespeare festivals all around the world.

The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra

Photo: 247 Tickets

National Centre for the Performing Arts. Sat 15 7.30-9.30pm. 180-680RMB

The youngest chief conductor in the orchestra's illustrious history, Lahav Shani leads the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in a programme of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D, Op.35 and Shostakovich's Symphony No.5 for one night only in Beijing. With French violinist Renaud Capuçon.

The Wizard of Oz

Photo: 247 Tickets

Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre. Thu 13-Sun 23 (except Mon) 7.30-10pm Sat 15-Sun 23 (every Sat-Sun) 2-4.30pm. 100-980RMB

Celebrating the beloved 1930's film that saw a generation of young girls want sparkly red shoes (just us?), The Wizard of Oz musical heads to the Beijing stage with a cacophony of timeless songs, bright sets and much heel-clicking. Take a trip back down the yellow brick lane with Dorothy and all her friends in need.

Picasso Birth of a Genius

Ullens Center for Contemporary Art. Sat 15-Sun 1 Sep (Every day except Monday). 138-188RMB  

Arriving this June, 'Picasso – Birth of a Genius' is the most significant exhibition of work by Pablo Picasso ever to take place in China. Offering a comprehensive overview of the first three decades of Picasso’s career, the exhibition includes 103 works drawn entirely from the collection of the Musée national Picasso-Paris, tracing Picasso’s development from childhood to middle age and promising an indepth insight into the life of one of the most influential artists in the history of modern art. 

Niki Passath: Robotic Conditions

Photo: Niki Passath/Facebook

Jitu Creative Space. Sat 15-Sun 30(Every day except Monday). FREE

Austrian artist Niki Passath searches for answers to the mystery of life, the people, their emotions, social behaviour, and behaviour in comparison to machines and the surrounding nature. Passath touches on different disciplines from robotics to artificial intelligence, quantum physics to the life sciences, traveling through Europe and the Americas, in search for answers. He assembles his knowledge in the form of kinetic objects, photographs and artistic-scientific configurations.

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